Gardening with Ben - Garden and Allotment Tips and Advice Podcast

🌱❄️ January may feel slow outdoors, but it’s actually the perfect month to kickstart your growing season! In this episode, we dive into what you can plant and sow right now — indoors, in the polytunnel, and even outdoors if conditions allow. We’ll chat about the best seeds to start early (onions, chillies, peppers, leeks), hardy crops that cope with the cold, soil prep for spring, and how to give...

🌱✨ A brand-new growing year is here — and in this episode, I’m sharing my biggest gardening and allotment goals for 2025! From new crops I want to try, to changes I’m making on the plot, to the improvements I’m planning across the polytunnel, raised beds, and wildlife areas… this is the full behind-the-scenes look at what’s coming this year. We’ll talk about improving productivity, choosing bett...

🌱✨ As the year comes to an end, it’s time to look back at everything the allotment has taught us — the wins, the challenges, the surprises, and the standout moments that made this gardening year unforgettable. In this special New Year’s Eve episode, we take a relaxed stroll through the past 12 months on the plot. We’ll chat about favourite harvests, the projects that paid off, lessons learned fr...

🌱❄️ It’s a calm December Sunday, and today we’re heading into the shed for a cosy, productive session of tidying up and getting a few seeds started! In this episode, we talk about the quiet winter jobs that make a big difference before the rush of January and February arrives. We’ll chat about sorting tools, cleaning pots, organising seed packets, preparing compost, and choosing the first seeds y...

🌱🔧 The shed is the heart of every allotment — and today we’re giving it the full 2025 preparation treatment! In this episode, we get stuck into tidying, cleaning, organising, and setting everything up so the new growing season starts smoothly and stress-free. We’ll chat about clearing out old pots, sharpening tools, checking seed stocks, refreshing compost supplies, reorganising shelves, and cre...

🎄🌱 Merry Christmas, gardeners! In this special festive episode, we’re taking a gentle wander through the allotment and chatting about what Christmas Day looks like for a gardener. From the quiet winter beds to the little signs of life, this peaceful, heartwarming episode celebrates the joy of gardening even on the coldest day of the year. We’ll talk about the magic of Christmas morning on the pl...

🛠️🌱 It’s time for a hands-on weekend at the allotment — and today we’re building a brand-new potting bench! In this episode, I take you through the full workshop-style process: planning, materials, assembly, and the little tweaks that make a potting bench truly useful. We’ll chat about choosing the right height, adding shelves for seed trays, creating storage for compost, using reclaimed wood, an...

🌱❄️ December might be cold, dark, and muddy — but Saturdays are still packed with quick and meaningful jobs you can do on the allotment and in the garden. In this episode, we walk through the essential weekend tasks that help keep the plot ticking over through winter. We’ll chat about winter pruning, clearing dead growth, topping up compost, protecting tender plants, turning over beds, organising...

🌱💚 Every gardener has failures — but what makes the difference is how we learn from them. In this honest and uplifting episode, we explore the mistakes, mishaps, and unexpected moments that every gardener encounters… and how each one can lead to better results next time. We’ll chat about seedlings that never sprouted, veg that bolted overnight, slug disasters, watering mistakes, weather surprise...

🌱✨ What if you could completely transform your allotment in just one month? In this powerful, motivating episode, I walk you through the exact steps, tasks, and habits that can dramatically change how your plot looks and performs — even if it’s been neglected, overgrown, or feeling overwhelming. We’ll break the month into simple weekly goals: clearing and tidying, improving soil, creating struct...

🌱✨ No matter how big or small your allotment is, there are always clever ways to maximise every inch of space! In today’s episode, we dive into creative, practical and often overlooked ideas to help you get more harvests, more colour and more enjoyment out of your plot. We’ll chat about vertical growing, under-planting, using pathways as productive spaces, smart compost setups, hidden corners fo...

🌼✨ Spring might feel far away, but NOW is the perfect time to start planning your dream garden. In this episode, we dive into the creative and practical steps that will help you design a garden that’s beautiful, productive, and perfectly suited to your style. We’ll chat about visualising your ideal layout, choosing which flowers and vegetables to grow, mapping out beds, improving soil, rotating...

❄️🌱 It’s a chilly December Sunday, but the allotment is still full of important winter jobs and little updates worth sharing! In today’s episode, we take a gentle walk around the plot and chat through everything happening at this quieter time of year. We’ll cover winter tidy-ups, checking beds and structures after frost, mulching veg, protecting tender plants, topping up compost, clearing dead gr...

❄️🌱 It’s a crisp, frosty December morning — the kind where the allotment looks magical under a blanket of white. In today’s episode, we take a slow winter stroll around the plot and chat about what’s happening when temperatures drop and nature settles into its coldest season. We’ll look at how winter veg are holding up, the importance of checking beds and structures after frost, how the polytunne...

🌱✨ It’s that exciting time again — the weekend is here and so is a fresh seed haul! In this episode, we dive into the jobs lined up for the plot this weekend and take a look at the new seeds that arrived, what they’re for, and why they made it into the 2025 growing plan. We’ll chat about weekend priorities at the allotment: winter bed prep, clearing old growth, refreshing compost, checking tunne...

❄️🌱 Winter can be a tough season for gardeners — dark days, cold mornings, muddy paths, and a plot that seems half asleep. But this episode is all about how I pushed through the winter slump and rediscovered the joy of gardening in the quietest time of year. We’ll chat about finding small wins, setting achievable winter goals, creating cosy shed routines, focusing on planning instead of planting,...

🌱❄️ Winter might seem quiet, but it’s actually the perfect time to start sowing certain seeds — especially if you want a strong, early start next year. In today’s episode, we take a look at the best seeds you can sow during the colder months, whether you’re using a windowsill, heated propagator, greenhouse, or polytunnel. We’ll chat about onions, leeks, chillies, peppers, hardy herbs, early brass...

🌧️🌱 Rainy days don’t have to stop you from getting things done in the garden or on the allotment! In this episode, we dive into all the jobs you can still tackle when the weather turns wet — without making a muddy mess or damaging the soil. We’ll chat about shed tasks, tool maintenance, seed sorting, planning sessions, greenhouse and polytunnel jobs, compost turning, pathway clearing, and all the...

🌱✨ Every gardener starts somewhere — and most of us make the same mistakes without even realising it! In this episode, we break down the top five beginner slip-ups that quietly hold people back… and how to fix them instantly. We’ll talk about overwatering, planting at the wrong time, buying the wrong compost, poor spacing, not preparing the soil, and the classic mistake of trying to grow everyth...

🌬️🌱 Storm Darragh has swept through — and today’s episode is all about assessing the damage, checking the plot, and putting things right again. High winds and winter storms can wreak havoc on gardens and allotments, and this episode walks through the real-life aftermath and the jobs that follow. We’ll chat about checking polytunnels, repairing netting, fixing broken canes and supports, clearing f...

🌬️🌱 Storm Darragh has hit hard — and today’s episode takes you straight to the allotment to experience the chaos, the challenges, and the surprising resilience of the garden in wild weather. From rattling tunnels to bending brassicas, this episode is a real behind-the-scenes look at what happens when nature tests your plot. We’ll chat about the immediate damage, quick fixes, how the structures he...

❄️🌱 December might be cold and quiet, but your allotment and garden still have plenty of important Saturday jobs worth doing. In this episode, we break down the essential winter tasks that keep your plot protected, productive, and ready for the new year. We’ll chat about winter pruning, clearing beds, protecting tender plants, topping up mulch, checking for frost damage, organising seeds and tool...

❄️🌱 Winter might seem like a quiet season, but there are five simple tasks that can completely transform your allotment before spring even begins. In this episode, we break down the most effective winter jobs that freshen the plot, boost soil health, protect your plants, and make your life easier in the busy months ahead. We’ll chat about clearing and mulching beds, improving soil structure, prot...

🌿✨ Every plot has a story — and in this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own allotment journey. From the early days of turning over tough soil and learning from mistakes, to the moments of joy, the challenges, the wins, and the lessons that shaped the gardener I am today. We’ll chat about how the allotment began, the evolution of the space, the biggest obstacles along the way, the...

❄️🌱 December might be cold and quiet outside, but your polytunnel and shed are bursting with essential winter jobs that set you up for allotment success. In this episode, we’re diving into the must-do tasks that make a huge difference before the busy growing months return. We’ll chat through tidying and organising the shed, cleaning tools, setting up winter seed stations, refreshing soil in the p...